9 Cheap, DIY Wedding Favor Ideas on a Budget

These days, wedding favors aren’t a necessity. I’ve been to plenty of nuptials where I left with nothing but a full belly and a smile on my face. But if you’re determined to give your guests a token of your appreciation, you want to make sure it’s not some cheap trinket that they will throw away as soon as they get back to their hotel room, and you also want to make sure you’re not spending a fortune on these forgettable trinkets.

Here are 9 ideas for memorable wedding favors, that will also save you money.

Save Money on Unique Wedding Favors

The biggest key to saving money on wedding favors, or anything wedding-related, is to do it yourself (DIY). In fact, many of the tips below are based on this principle. So if none of the ideas below are exactly what you are looking for, keep in mind the idea of DIY to save money on wedding favors.

1. Utilize Coupons
At my wedding, I gave my guests Kit Kat bars wrapped in colored tissue paper and tied with a pretty ribbon – and I got the candy for free by using discount grocery coupons in combination with a sale (i.e. how to extreme coupon). Another fun idea you can use coupons for is to buy tubes of lip balm for each guest, and then relabel them with your own homemade labels.

2. Make Your Favors Do Double Duty
I also used the Kit Kat bars as name cards, so guests knew where they were supposed to sit. This saved me even more money! Or another idea is for the favors to be part of the wedding reception decorations, such as balloons, flowers, or even part of the wedding reception table centerpieces. You could have all your guests take home a rose that is in the centerpiece displays and have a small thank you note attached to each one.

3. Give to Your Favorite Charity
If you and your spouse-to-be have a favorite charity, consider giving a sum of money to the charity in your guests’ names. You can then print out a small card that explains the charity, about the gift, and the charity’s contact information if your guests would like to give a contribution as well.

4. Grow Some Potted Plants
I went to a garden wedding a few years back where I got a potted plant as a wedding favor. If you have a green thumb, this is a fun idea that you can do yourself. Just make sure you give yourself plenty of time to start growing the plants. Who knows? It may just inspire them to start their own home garden.

5. Bag Up Some Candy
One thing that guests love about getting candy as a favor is that they can snack on it while they are waiting for dinner to be served. They also like not having to bring something home after a night of wining, dining, and dancing that is just going to get lost in their car. Candy is fairly inexpensive depending on what kind you choose. Just make sure to use your creativity to package it nicely to match your decorations.

6. Make Some Homemade Truffles
I got married in Fort Myers, Florida which is famous for Norman Love Confections who has the absolute best chocolate truffles. I really considered buying little boxes of truffles as favors until I realized the cost would be over $500! Instead, I considered making my own truffles or some other sort of tasty treat, such as chocolate covered strawberries, or homemade cookies.

7. Burn CDs
If you and your spouse-to-be are music buffs, consider burning a CD of your favorite love songs. This will give your guests something to listen to for the long drive back home if they are from out-of-town. Just make sure you are not infringing on any copyright laws.

8. Share Your Engagement Photo
This was the wedding favor at my sister’s wedding. She had her favorite engagement photo printed for every wedding guest. At the bottom of the photo, it gave information to the guests on how they could view the wedding pictures online once they were available.

9. Fan Your Guests
This is great for an outdoor or summer wedding venue. You can provide your guests with a homemade fan to cool themselves off during the ceremony and reception. You can print a message or photo on thick cardstock and then staple it to a handle. You could even print your wedding program on the fans so that the favors are doing double duty.

Final Word

If you decide that you do want to give guests a token of your appreciation for coming to the wedding, forget the typical dollar store trinkets that will just get thrown away at the night’s end. Instead, create favors that you’ve put some time and thought into – without spending a lot of money.

Casey SlideCasey Slide lives with her husband and baby in Atlanta, GA. She graduated from the University of Florida in 2005 with a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering and worked for a prominent hospital in Atlanta. With the birth of Casey’s son in February 2010, she decided to become a stay-at-home mom. Casey’s interests include reading, running, living green, and saving money.

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